Schloss Eggenberg

Eggenberg was begun in 1625 for Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg as a diagram of time as much as a residence. The plan works through the divisions of the year: towers for the seasons, gates and floors counted out, windows tallied to the days, and twenty-four state rooms on the upper floor leading to a Planetary Room painted with the signs of the zodiac. Those rooms are seen only on a guided tour and keep their original ceilings and painted panels. Outside, a walled park runs to formal beds and old trees, with peacocks that treat the lawns as their own.

What you actually see

• The Planetary Room - the painted hall at the end of the state rooms, worked through with planets and zodiac signs.
• The state rooms - the twenty-four connected chambers of the upper floor, seen on a guided tour.
• The palace park - the walled grounds with formal beds, old trees and free-roaming peacocks.
• The calendar plan - the counting of towers, gates, floors and windows through the divisions of the year.

When to go

State room tours run from spring to autumn at set times and in limited numbers, so book ahead or arrive early for a slot. The park opens year-round and is at its best in May and October. Winter closes the interiors almost entirely. A weekday morning gives the smallest tour group.

Honest expectations

Without a tour ticket you see a park and a facade, and tours are often full or German only. The palace sits out on a tram line rather than in the centre, adding half an hour each way. Photography inside is restricted. The interest here is largely intellectual, and anyone expecting Schonbrunn-scale opulence leaves underwhelmed.

Nearby

Graz old town is twenty minutes back along the tram line.